Dates Traveled: Two trips between October-December 2001
Various trips between March-October 2005
Various trips between March-October 2006
Another trip between October-December 2006
(I’d also traveled here in October of both 1997/1998, but those trips are without details)

Kathmandu

The flight from Paro to Kathmandu was incredible, and I was lucky enough to fly on a crystal-clear day. We passed by the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th highest mountains in the world. Spectacular. Arriving in Kathmandu was a bit of a shock after Bhutan - as I knew it would be. Despite the dirt, noise, chaos, and the fact that you take your life in your hands every time you wander the streets, as the cars/rickshaws/motorcycles try to run you down, there is a vibrancy to Kathmandu that I’ve always enjoyed.

I checked out Bodhnath, the largest stupa (Buddhist monument) in Nepal, and one of the largest in the world. It is a gathering place for many of the displaced Tibetans in Kathmandu, and a place I always enjoy visiting. Very peaceful and colorful. I spent a few days simply wandering, organizing a trek, and witnessing the Diwali Hindu festival, which meant witnessing the slaughter of many goats. As I said, Kathmandu has a charm, an energy, that is hard to deny. It was good to be back for the third time.

For those of you that know my less-than-stellar history in Nepal in 1997 and 1998, you may have noticed the fact that I did trek. I went into it hoping to avoid the tri-fecta of high altitude pulmonary edema. I jutified it this way - in ‘97 I was choppered out and spent some time in a gamow bag; by ‘98 I had managed to eliminate the chopper, but still had some bag-time. I figured this time I’d go one step further and eliminate the bag as well.

Pokhara & Trailhead

From Kathmandu it was a 6-hour bus ride to Pokhara, and then another 4 1/2 hour bus trip the following day to a village called Besi Shahar, which is the start of the Annapurna Circuit trek. I was certainly glad to leave the buses behind, as they are much too cramped for somebody of my size.

Annapurna Circuit Trek

The next morning I started the trekking routine, which would be my life for the next 17 days…up at 5:45 AM; breakfast at 6:30; hiking by 7; hopefully an arrival in a village by 11-1; relaxing the rest of the day and writing in a journal, enjoying the views, and chatting with other trekkers; food, and in bed by about 8 PM, ready to do it all over again the following day. Trek started at a low elevation - about 760 m (2493′), amid terraced farmland, and followed the Marshyangdi River. One of the nice parts about the Annapurna Circuit is that, for the most part, it follows river valleys, which eliminates a lot of the ups and downs that you may encounter on other treks. At the lower elevations, the kids usually run through a series of requests - school pen, sweets/bon-bon/chocolate, or rupees. These were simply some of the first ‘gifts’ doled out by trekkers, and the kids have never moved on to new requests. Had the first trekkers been more eccentric or health-conscious, the kids today could be saying, “Hey Meester, broccoli? One broccoli?” Whatever they’re asking for, it’s best not to give them anything as it only encourages begging. The kids usually don’t harass you for long, and sometimes simply make the request as they’re passing and never even wait around for the answer - more like something they feel obligated to do. You have to admire some of the kids that have progressed a bit beyond the usual requests. I met one small girl that simply pointed to the watch on my arm, pointed to her arm, and then flashed her baby brown eyes at me. Nice try, but no, you’re not getting my watch.

For obvious reasons, there were considerably fewer trekkers on the route this year - a lot of people that had intended to do the trek canceled after the events in September. We’d seen statistics that in October of 2000, there were 17,000 trekkers on the route, but this year the lodges were only 25-50% full. It made it a perfect year as a trekker, as we didn’t have to rush to a lodge to secure a room for the night. However, the lodge owners were scrambling trying to get business, often offering me a room for the equivalent of US$0.50. They were willing to take a hit on the room cost in order to get you to eat your meals there. I always found it strange that a Snickers candy bar cost more than the room for the evening.

As I progressed farther up the valley I had a permanent grin on my face - the views were spectacular, as I saw some of the world’s highest mountains against a crystal-clear blue sky. If one could ignore the power line, which often paralleled the trail, it was ideal. Days were crisp, clear, beautiful fall days, with temperatures around 40 F (4 C). Some of the leaves were changing color, and to walk on pine needles along a track, with the sound of the rushing river close at hand, was fantastic. Really enjoyed the villages higher up the valley - beginning at Lower Pisang (3200 m; 10,500′) and its sister village up the hill a bit, Upper Pisang. The homes were constructed of rocks, and situated along narrow, winding alleys. Access to the upper floors was generally made possible by a tree trunk that had been hollowed out to form steps. The flat roofs of these homes were utilized for drying wood, grasses, grains, etc., while animals generally lived on the ground floor, and the people on the second floor. They were amazing, and very picturesque. The homes were more Tibetan in nature, as one is continually moving towards the Tibetan Plateau as he progresses up the valley.

The next major village was Manang, at 3540 m (11,614′). It is very dry and dusty in the region, as it sits in the rain shadow of the major Annapurna range of mountains. However, there is also a lot of erosion in the area, which gives the entire region a lunar landscape feel. Strange. It is recommended to stay an extra night in Manang to aid acclimatization, and with my sordid history I was only too happy to oblige. I had felt extremely strong during the trek - as strong as I always believed I should at elevation. I was arriving at my daily destination much faster than other trekkers, but hadn’t felt I was overexerting myself - I was simply walking at a consistent pace and not resting. However, one can always justify and pretend to be stronger than they really are, which can be dangerous at elevation. Therefore, in Manang I visited the Himalayan Rescue Association clinic to get a pulse oxymeter reading. Basically tells you the amount of oxygen in your blood. In ‘98, six hours before being bagged with pulmonary edema (but before we knew I had it), I had a reading of 72%…not good. This year, it was 94%, and my pulse was 60. Nice to get confirmation that I really was feeling well. I spent my rest day wandering the area, as there are some nice little hikes and viewpoints. Manang itself also contains the rock buildings and narrow alleyways, so it is a great place to wander aimlessly, and many lodges show English-language movies at night.

Feeling strong, I decided to take a side trip to the highest lake in the world - Tilicho Lake, which is situated at about 5000 m (16,404′). I trekked to the base-camp lodge via the high route, which offered some amazing views from a 4500 m (14,764′) vantage point. I descended a scree slope to the only accommodation in the region, the base-camp lodge at 4100 m (13,451′). I stayed in the dorm room that night, and with everybody tossing, turning, and heading out to the outhouse all night it became impossible to sleep, so I finally got up and hit the trail at 4:30 AM. It was beautiful, as there was nearly a full moon, so the headlamp was unnecessary. I always enjoy those early, cold mornings on the trail guided by the light from the moon and the millions of stars. I climbed for 2 hours and arrived at the lake right at sunrise, to see the mountains around the lake turn orange/pink with the rising sun, which was nice…and I had the scene to myself.

I retraced my steps, but rather than stay another night at the base-camp, which is recommended, I opted to carry all the way to a different village. I took the low route out of base-camp, which was excellent. The ‘authority’ in the region recommends the high route, as the low route is considered unsafe. People that had arrived at base-camp via the low route talked of one slightly treacherous section, but I decided to take it. It was great, walking along a path 5-6″ wide along steep slopes that were prone to avalanche. I kick myself for not taking that picture, as it would have been good. It ended up being a longer day of trekking than I’d been doing - about 10 hours, so I’d be lying if I said I went to sleep with extreme confidence that night. Pulmonary edema tends to set in at night, as you either wake up with a gurgling in your chest, or sometimes don’t awake - never a good thing.

I did awake - to a few inches of new snow, so it was beautiful. I was heading to the high camp that day, which was the final stop before crossing the Thorung La - the 5416 m (17,769′) pass from one valley into the next. As I was approaching the lower camp I met an American woman coming towards me. I’d met she and her boyfriend earlier in the trek. I found out that her boyfriend had gone over the pass that morning but that she was having altitude issues and so was heading down. As she was relaying this information she passed out, and I had to catch her. It was obvious she needed to get down, but equally obvious that she wouldn’t be able to negotiate the uphill climb necessary before she was on the downhill side. Therefore, we arranged for her to ride a horse back to Manang, and I turned around and headed back down with her. Since I had a bit of knowledge about what she was probably going through, I figured it would help if I was there. Once lower she was fine, and it was nice to be around and repay a bit of the help that had been given me in ‘97/’98.

I went back up towards the pass a bit the following day, and then awoke early the next day and was on the trail at 4:20. I was starting from a place a few hours from where most people last stay before crossing the pass, but figured that with the acclimatization I’d done I could do the pass that day. I felt strong by the high camp, so continued on to the pass. There are many false passes, but just when you begin to get discouraged - believing that you’ll never arrive, you’re standing at the pass with some amazing views down each side. From the top it was 3 hours down to the village of Muktinath (3800m; 12,467′). The trail was a bit treacherous in places, as the snow from a few days prior had frozen where many had walked. I heard of a few who took spills, breaking wrists or dislocating shoulders, and I watched a porter go sliding by me and his load go tumbling over a hill, but I eventually made it through the worst.

I didn’t enjoy the backside of the Circuit nearly as much as the first part. There are many that only do the ‘backside’ as part of a different trek, and never go over the pass. Also, there is an airfield at the village of Jomsom, so the drone of a small engine often breaks the peace as the planes fly up/down the valley. For me, the best part of the backside was the village of Kagbeni, situated at 2800 m (9,186′). It has a nice gompa (monastery) and a walled inner town, but more importantly it is the farthest north you can go without a special permit, as to the north lies the Forbidden (now more cost-prohibitive) Kingdom of Mustang. I’d love to go up there sometime, as it has always appealed to me - situated on the Tibetan Plateau, and not visited by many people. Sounds amazing.

The trek down the backside followed the Kali Gandaki river valley, which is billed as the world’s deepest valley, as it’s situated between two 8,000 meter peaks. However, it is more of a broad valley, and so really isn’t something over which you ooh and aah. It took 4 days to descend from Muktinath to Beni (830 m; 2,723′), where I caught a bus back to Pokhara. I opted to ride on top of the bus, which was a great adventure…for the first half-hour. Four hours later in Pokhara I was cold (the sun had set) and my butt was sore from sitting on small iron bars the entire journey. Guess cramped bus seats aren’t that bad after all.

In general the Annapurna Circuit trek is a great trek because it is a circuit - you never have to retrace your steps, which is always a good thing. You see 3 of the 14 highest mountains in the world, the accommodations are good along the way, and the apple pies are delicious! You will encounter many mule trains ferrying goods between the upper and lower villages, as well as many local people doing the same. The loads the locals can carry have always amazed me - large quantities of grass or firewood, building materials, eggs, etc. You name it. The upper villages have more of a Buddhist atmosphere, with numerous mani walls (walls with stones which have a prayer carved on them), prayer flags, walls of prayer wheels, etc. On a few occasions I saw places where a prayer wheel had broken and so was replaced - with a Nescafe coffee can! I’ve always liked the simplicity and practicality of the Buddhist religion.

Pokhara

Back in Pokhara I hung out for a few days with several people I’d met during the trek. It was nice to simply sit in gardens by the lake and relax. From Pokhara there are some nice views of the entire range of mountains we had just encircled.

I next headed into India to see the camel fair at Pushkar - as you do. However, I’d return to Nepal in a few weeks.